As you can imagine, it’s not very easy to review tools correctly in an office environment, and even stretch the limits of a personal garage. We do many of our reviews on the jobsite. However, many times we need a controlled environment with the necessary equipment and accessories. As we expanded one of our shops, we took the opportunity to review Clopay commercial garage doors for our commercial steel building. We needed overhead garage doors as rugged and durable as the rest of the metal shop we had constructed.
As PTR neared the completion of our 2,000-square-foot workshop/testing/storage facility, one of the first important needs was to close up the 12′ x 14′ and 10′ x 10′ hole in the gable end and side of the building. With some extensive research, we reached out to Clopay Door in the heartland of Ohio. After a quick discussion with Clopay, they put us in touch with their local commercial authorized dealer in Tampa – Banko Overhead Doors.
While we here at PTR pride ourselves in being professional and knowing how to handle a jackhammer, chainsaw, and forklift; Clopay ensured us that we need to let the true door professionals, Banko, perform the task of installing these overhead doors. We quickly realized why this was the honest truth.
Clopay 3720 Commercial Doors Features
Clopay offers a wide selection of durable, energy-efficient commercial sectional and rolling steel doors to choose from. Based on the use and geographic location of the building, along with the need for security to protect the valuable property inside, Clopay recommended a commercial Model 3720 energy series with intellicore door designed for warehouses, manufacturing facilities, pole barns, and outbuildings.
The Model 3720 garage door provides a durable, thermal barrier against extreme temperatures and weather. The three-layer Intellicore® construction features environmentally safe CFC- and HCFC-free polyurethane insulation foam injected between two layers of galvanized steel, to provide an R-value of 18.4. The tongue and groove joint design has a continuous foam thermal break to prevent cold or heat from passing through the section.
Insulation is an important consideration in both warm and cool climates. Not only does it help keep the space comfortable year-round, the “sandwich” door construction design is more durable, secure, and quieter. Non-insulated garage doors are noisier when they roll up and down because there is nothing to prevent the metal panels from rattling or to absorb the noise caused by the vibration of the operator. The interior and exterior door panels are also primed and coated with a baked-on polyester paint finish for a durable, low-maintenance, rust-resistant surface. The Clopay 3720 doors are available factory-finished in white or brown with optional windows. We opted for the windows in order let in some natural light while not sacrificing security with the impact-resistant Lexan.
Clopay 3720 Commercial Doors Installation
Banko Doors sent out a commercial door expert (we’ll call him “Scott” because, well, that’s his name) to confirm our measurements and to assess the need for any further fabrication for the fitment of the new doors. Thankfully Scott was able to spot the need to fabricate some additional pads to ensure the installation went smoothly and met local building codes. While here, we also scheduled the installation date.
Two weeks later, the Clopay Doors arrived with the install crew from Banko Doors. The crew of two, Bob and Chris, hit the ground running and didn’t even slow down until the floor was swept and the trash was picked up. It was obvious they had done this a few hundred times. The doors were in two-foot sections and blank of their associated hardware. Within a few minutes, they had the door sections stacked on saw horses in their order of installation.
They first installed the tracks on which the doors would ride. Once the tracks were installed, then the associated lift springs were mounted in place. Clopay has already calculated the number of turns required for each spring in order to raise and lower the respective door with ease. In our case, the large 12′ x 14′ door—all 580 pounds of it—needed 9-1/2 full turns of the spring. That equates to 38 quarter-turns using two 3-foot steel breaker bars for leverage. The smaller door took a little less persuasion, but you still must respect the potential energy just itching to burst out.
Standard springs on the Model 3720 offer 10,000 cycles and should last about 5 years if the door is opened and closed six times per day. Clopay provided optional 25,000 springs more than doubling the life expectancy of the springs.
Clopay Storm-ready Reinforced Commercial Door Construction
It was obvious from first glance and feel, that these weren’t your ordinary doors. “Quality” and “bulletproof” were the first words that came to mind. As a leader in building codes and product innovation, Clopay has the largest number of Florida Building Code and Miami-Dade-approved products. The company has wind load application engineers on staff and a certified in-house testing facility.
Garage doors are a critical component to preserving a building’s structural integrity during a hurricane. Pro Tool Reviews is located in Polk County, and in 2004 we had three hurricanes hit our location. In less than six weeks, hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Jeanne made their paths, so we know firsthand what it’s like to weather the storm. The loss of any door or window during a hurricane can cause internal pressure to build up, resulting in a blowout of the roof and supporting walls.
Because of their size, sectional doors are more susceptible to wind damage than other exterior openings. “Storm-ready” models require no advance setup. Reinforcement is built into the structure of the door and is engaged by simply locking it, a timesaving convenience in the event of a sudden evacuation notice. The built in struts are required to meet local building codes. As the expert, Clopay has a wide array of oversize and extended height doors to meet most code requirements. The Model 3720s installed on the Pro Tool Reviews facility are W-6 on Clopay’s WindCode rating scale with a Design Pressure Minimum +37 PSF (pounds per square foot).
Clopay Model 3720 Premium-duty Door Installation (cont’d)
Once the tracks and springs were installed, it was time to start constructing and installing the door panels. For each section, Bob and Chris from Banko Doors, carefully installed the t-bar and roller hardware with the included self-tapping 3/8″ hex-head screws. As they would complete installing the hardware on each section, they would then place the panel in the opening and corresponding tracks. After the bottom section was in, then the next panel would be put on top of this and screws installed on the hinges that connected the adjacent panels. Before too long, each opening was closed in with brand new Clopay 3720 Intellicore doors. What a beautiful sight it was and is. But they weren’t ready for raising and lowering yet.
Beware of red-headed screws, especially on a garage door. During the installation, I noticed that the bottom roller hardware was installed with the same hex-headed screws as the rest, but they were painted red on the bottom of each door—fire-engine red. I asked the obvious question: What’s with the red screws? Remember when I mentioned that the big door weighed 580 pounds, and remember when I mentioned the 9-1/2 full turns of the huge spring? Well, this brace with the red screws is where the cables terminate to raise and lower the doors; hence, over 580 pounds of pressure pull on these red screws. Don’t take out these screws!
Now that the panels were installed and the cables were connected, the doors needed to be shimmed to ensure they were level. The last thing you want is a 10′ or 12′ door that is binding up when you’re trying to raise or lower it. Regardless of whether you’re doing this manually or you have a powered door lift, any binding will cause trouble with use and also shorten the life of both the doors and the springs. Our 10′ door was perfect, but our 12′ x 14′ door needed to be shimmed 1/4″ on one side. This shimming was due to our concrete being not so perfect. After shimming, it was time to raise the doors for the first time. Both doors operated flawlessly. With just one hand, you can manually (and almost effortlessly) raise or lower either door.
Before leaving, the Banko Door crew also installed a Liftmaster opener for each door. Both Banko and Clopay said that Liftmaster is the only manufacturer to use for lifting commercial doors. After a full day’s work for two men, both doors were going up and down with the touch of a button. The optional keypad was also installed on the exterior garage door frame for easy entrance with just a simple PIN entry. The Liftmaster motors add the ability to operate the doors via smartphone/tablet as well.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the feel, fit, and function of the Clopay 3720 Intellicore doors. These doors are solidly built and work flawlessly. We can definitely recommend Clopay and Banko Overhead Doors to anyone in need of commercial or rolling steel doors.
The doors come with a 10-year paint warranty, a 10-year delamination warranty, and a one-year warranty on materials and workmanship.
